13 Commentaires:

Antonio, get over yourself. This will not haunt Harper for ever. If you think so, than the Liberal Party really is out of touch with regular Canadians.

You seem to be creating an issue out of nothing. Mckenzie King claimed to speak to his dead mother and dog, getting spiritual advice. Reagan was also known to indulge in astrology. These acts didn't hinder the work both men accomplished.

The fact is that this 'psychic', Michelle Muntean, is Harper's makeup artist. She has worked extensively at both CBC and CTV. If she does give Harper spiritual advice, so be it. Many people believe in superstitions and read horoscopes. How is that any different?

The issue as to who's paying her salary is something else, and should be looked at.

I would advice you Antonio not to get too heated up over your psychic inclinations of predicting that this will haunt Harper forever.

Rather than make psychic forecasts, its time to focus on the lousy performance of the Liberals, and why Dion hasn't said anything about Colleen Beaumier's disgusting comments.

Harper won't be haunted by this, because nobody is stupid enough to believe that a policy-wonk, pragmatic, "steely-eyed," "meanspirited," cold, uncaring, uncharistmatic - I forget all the things he's been called, but flaky has never been one of them - bully would believe in such a thing. And for sure, I doubt you'll find many hard-right Christian fundamentalists that would like to see all women barefoot & pregnant in the kitchen believing in or consulting psychics, either.

So you guys need to decide if you're going to stick with the kitten-eating bully storyline or the flaky storyline, but you can't have both, sort of like you can't be the champions of Kyoto having done buggar all for a decade.

What I and everybody else back in Canada really need know right now is what the heck are you wearing?

Don't give me that "who me?" look. It might work on Laureen, but it won't work on a style columnist. I know you got into Cancun late Wednesday night. I know you haven't had time to shop since Afghanistan.You're Prime Minister now -- it's time to dress that way.

I don't mean to be cranky, but you're testing my sartorial patience. First there was the hair issue (ongoing), then the series of mock turtlenecks that made you look like an assistant golf pro at Club Link, then the Lone Ranger getup at the Stampede, and now this! Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, you show up for an official visit wearing a fishing vest and clashing bottoms.

Look around, Stephen. It's Cancun. Not a war zone. Not a campaign barbeque in Moose Jaw. Everyone else is in pressed linen and khakis and there you are, looking one bucket-hat away from being the next Canadian Tire Guy.

Don't you have advisers for this kind of thing? Press secretaries? Image consultants? A personal shopper? A mirror? I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of showing your recent photo to a few experts in the field.

The first was Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla, a politician known for her elegance and style. Admittedly she's a member of the opposition, but partisanship aside, the news wasn't good. "It looks as if Harper has forgotten that he's in Mexico this week and not Kandahar," she quipped, adding the recommendation that perhaps the PM "should have done a stopover at Toronto Fashion Week."

Looking at the photos, Ceri Marsh, editor-in-chief of Fashion magazine in Toronto, sighed deeply into the phone.

"Oh, this is bad. This is terrible. Fox looks great. Bush is fine. But Harper is a total embarrassment. He looks like their assistant. Could he not do his zipper up? It looks like his belly is too big. And I believe those appear to be pleated brown trousers. No one has worn those in 10 years.

"And what is with that vest? Is it supposed to be camouflage? Maybe he thinks if they don't see him they won't take him to task on softwood lumber."

She paused for a moment. "Oh wait, he's supposed to take them to task on softwood lumber."

If you were hoping a red-blooded male might be more sympathetic, I'm afraid you're out of luck. After catching sight your outfit, Jeff Farbstein, vice-president of Harry Rosen, all but howled in disgust.

"He's wearing a utility vest!" he lamented.

Asked for some professional fashion advice, Mr. Farbstein barely knew where to begin.

"He's not the best-dressed guy to begin with, but this is obviously an important international event. One of his consultants should have told him what to wear, and how. If he were wearing a beige cotton suit with no tie and a crisp linen shirt, that would have been the way to go.

"But even if he'd just gotten off the plane -- at least throw a blue blazer over it."